Sunday, June 29, 2008

Sometimes random links on people's blogs can lead to such happy places. From the Decor8 site, I saw a link to All the Luck in the World. It's in another language, but the pictures were worth clicking through. I wish I would've found this site prior to the Mood Board Contest. I definitely could've used some of the images to inspire a room design. For now, I'll dream about one day using them to create a happy space in my own home.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

With my new fondness of quilting, I've been looking for more fabrics to drool over (not literally) in addition to Amy Butler. So in my Internet travels, I came across some quilts made using Sandi Henderson fabrics. I love her bold colors and patterns, and how they all come together so beautifully. I guess this means more projects to add to my wish list! Below are some pictures of her booth from a trade show.

With my new likeness of quilting, I've been looking for more fabrics to drool over (not literally) in addition to Amy Butler. So in my Internet travels, I came across Sandi Henderson. I love her colors and patterns, and how they all come together so beautifully. I guess this means more projects to add to my wish list!

Friday, June 27, 2008

I was cleaning out my yarn bins the other day and re-balling my one giant tangled ball of multiple yarns into the individual balls they should be. Once I was done, I couldn't help but admire how pretty they looked together. Seeing them all reminds me of all the projects I've made with each of them--sweaters for my niece and nephew, slippers, multiple baby sweaters, clothes for me, toys, LOTS of scarves and the list goes on. Ahh...knitting memories. ;)

Thursday, June 26, 2008

With the Mood Boards finished, Shelley, Jess and I are off and running with our next Craft Challenge. Shelley got to select this week's challenge, and the theme is Dolls. We each need to make one doll to be swapped on Monday, June 30. I think we'll probably just draw names to see who gets what doll. I had a couple of days off last week (which is when the challenge theme was actually selected), so my doll is ready to go. I wish I could show it now, but it must wait until after the reveal. For now, here are some cute dolls (and plushes) that I found on Etsy.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The good news is the next phase of the the Mood Board Contest is upon us. Now it's time to vote! The bad news is that of the 118 entries, Shelley, Jessica, and I were not among the 23 finalists. Boo! Oh well. I think most of the finalists' designs were completely deserving. And for the three of us, it wasn't about who won or lost that mattered, just that we had fun. I think we all did.With that said, you have until June 26 (I think?) to vote for your favorites. I still need to look a little more closely at all 23, but so far, I'm digging these:

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

When it comes to crafts, sometimes you've got to go big or go home. And that is exactly what I did when attempting my first quilt. Table runners? Baby quilts? Placemats? Nah...instead I go for the world's biggest quilt ever (in my mind anyway). First things first, I've never made an "actual" quilt. I sewed part of top with my mom when I was a kid, but never finished it. In college, I sewed a whole top, but made it into a duvet cover instead of actually quilting it. But when I came across 34 pre-cut 5" squares of Amy Butler's Midwest Modern fabric (as already mentioned...my favorites) for $10, I couldn't pass it up.

But what to do with 34 squares? I know...make a king-sized quilt! (Yes, there was more of a thought pattern there, but not one any sane person could follow.) After a visit to St. Vinny's, I found old bed sheets (and lots of them!) that went really well with the fabric. And that is where the "Humongous Happy Dance" quilt (as I'm now calling it) began. The gi-normous size happened because I'm bad with measuring. I figured if I wanted a queen-size quilt, I better plan for a king size just in case. But as it turns out, my math wasn't so far off. After finishing the top, it turned out to be the exact size I planned. D'oh!

Mandy, a friend at work and excellent quilter/seamstress (don't believe me...check out her Beanabine Etsy shop!), is expecting. We decided to do a trade...I'd knit her a baby sweater, and she'd help me back my quilt. This past Saturday, she, another work friend Tonya, and I got together for a Saturday "Crafternoon." Mandy showed me what to do, and I got started pinning while she and Tonya worked on their own quilts. Four hours and sore, raw fingers later, my entire quilt was pinned--yeah, almost 200-300 pins. Ouch!

I was going to sew buttons all over the quilt to hold it together, but I discovered that I HATE BUTTONS! It took me two hours to sew on 15 buttons. That’s ridiculous. And then I didn’t even like how they looked. It would’ve been great for a little girl quilt, but a big girl (i.e., me) quilt, it looked dumb. I switched to hand tying. Spent another few hours doing that only to realize I tied the quilt folded in half....yes, I am a moron. After all of that, I decided to machine quilt it. And WOW!!! That was SOOOOO much easier, and turned out nicer. It’s nothing fancy. I just used a swervey (sp?) stitch along the seams. Thanks Curvy for being up for the challenge!

Below are some pictures of the pinned quilt, the backing, and the room where we worked on all of this. The room was in the upstairs of Mill House Quilts in Waunakee. A very cool place. The quilts pictured below were hanging in the room. Once I get further along on my quilt, I'll post more pictures.

"Humongous Happy Dance"

A sea of pins (and sore fingers)

That's the backing for my quilt lying on five tables and still not fitting.

I found this flannel fabric at Walmart for $1/yd. I was so happy since I need 12 yds to back the quilt.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Today was the final day to enter mood boards for the Decor8/Amy Butler Mood Board Contest. Since this was such a fast turnaround, Shelley, Jessica, and I used this contest as our third craft challenge. Shelley and Jessica, given their design educations, jobs, and backgrounds, entered the contest as pros. I, being only an amateur crafter, entered as a non-pro. The entries are rolling in and you can check them out here. There are some very, very cool ones!

As for our three, I think they mostly speak for themselves. Shelley and I both did outdoor spaces, and Jessica did a cute girly room. If any of us get selected as finalists (and I'm hoping that at least one of us does!), I'll be sure to let everyone know as your votes will be needed.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

All the craft challenges and reveals have gotten me antsy for more craft contests. Crafting burnout can happen easily, so I'm just posting this in case anyone is interested in entering. It's an inspiration contest on MarthaStewartCrafts.com. Here are the rules. So take this post as more of a crafty FYI vs. a full-on craft smackdown. As always, if you do enter, be sure to let me know, especially since you need votes to win! If I end up making something, you'll be sure to see a post about it.

Friday, June 20, 2008

I've been seeing a lot of deer on crafts lately, and they just make me smile. So I guess this is a good trend--especially since Bambi makes me cry usually. Here are a few I've pulled together. They're so cute and innocent looking...they touch my heart.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

I can't believe I missed it, but last Sunday was my one-month blogging anniversary. Hope you've enjoyed viewing the posts as much as I have enjoyed creating them. No big changes to come; I just plan to keep on keeping on. However, if you ever have crafts that you'd like to share, please email me the pictures and I'll post them (within reason, of course!).

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

So with little delay, the Children's Book Collage Craft Reveal went down today. What I'm loving about these challenges is each person's interpretation of the craft. We all bring something different to the table. I especially love this craft because it not only allowed for fun crafts, but we each got to tell a little story about the books we loved as kids.

For me, I chose The Berenstain Bears series of books more than just one single book (although my OCD self always liked the organized bins and boxes in Messy Room). My craft was based on how my memories of these books are very much tied to my big brother. He's five years older than me and used to read these to me all the time. Thanks, Sean!

A scrapbook page of my brother and me. I love the adoring look I have for him in this picture--it came from the heart.

Jessica chose Never Tease a Weasel. She said she loved this book and read it a lot, although the message didn't quite sink in. =) Her craft was a wall art collage made from paint, wood, paper, and embroidery floss. I think the message (taken from the book) speaks for itself.

That's Jess as a little girl...the photo, not the weasel, that is. =)

Shelley chose two books. The first was Frog and Toad Are Friends. For those who don't know the story, Frog loses a button while walking with Toad in the woods. He makes Toad go back and help him find the button. They find lots of buttons, but not Frog's. When Frog gets home, he sees his button on the floor. So to thank Toad for all the trouble he went through, Frog sews all the found buttons to a coat to give to Toad. Shelley's craft is a frame covered in buttons and fabric scraps.

On the front of the frame reads "friends."

The following two books inspired a second frame by Shelley. This one was a more stylistic approach.Nice work, ladies!